The present application relates generally to communications and, more particularly, to communication with contactless smartcards.
Contactless smartcards are widely used to purchase goods and services. For example, it is now possible to pay for gasoline, groceries, and transit fares simply by waving a contactless smartcard in the vicinity of a card reader. Contactless smartcards provide the cardholder with a quick and convenient way to transfer value.
A contactless smartcard communicates with a card reader using electromagnetic radiation. Card transactions typically involve an over-the-air exchange of information such as account numbers and card identifiers. These exchanges may be susceptible to eavesdropping which can lead to hacking the smartcard and possibly the theft of its value.
Data encryption can help to reduce the incidence of hacking attacks. However, encryption algorithms are not effective in every situation and may be susceptible to unforeseen weaknesses. Moreover, there is a large body of unencrypted or weakly encrypted cards now in circulation.